Caught in the Riptide
by Aubrey-Jade
Summary: Set after 2x15: The Promise - 5 years ago Slade made a promise, and he's come to Starling City fulfill it. With Diggle away on Suicide Squad business, Oliver is left to protect his loved ones and track down Slade. Unfortunatley, Oliver couldn't protect everyone. Eventual Olicity. *Warning, dark themes in future chapters*
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of these beautiful characters. Sigh.

A/N: So... This is my first fic ever. I hope that doesn't scare you as much as it does me, *wink, wink*. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it, and I would love, love, love feedback in any, way, shape or form! It is appreciated!  
With that said, I've had this idea kicking around in my noggin for a few months now, and I've tentatively decided to write it down. It is definitely Olicity focused, but it takes a second (or two) for us to get there. Also, because I know thuat rape and sexual abuse is a sensitive subject (as it should be), that will be a theme of sorts in this story. I will warn you before hand of any scenes containing any sort of mature or dark topics, but I figured I would drop that bomb now just to be safe.  
On that happy note, I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter One

Sweat beaded on the back of her neck as she hacked into Starling City's traffic footage for the third time in a matter of hours. She had to track down Slade before he got to them first. Showing up at the Queen mansion was the first and final straw. Felicity couldn't idly sit by while a psychopath was threatening Oliver and his family. The internet was her domain, and she would not be outsmarted by some super soldier who lived on an island for a few years. _Never thought I'd say that, _she mumbled under her breath.

"Felicity," she heard from behind her. She was long past the point of jumping when Oliver snuck up on her, however, it didn't stop her heart from stuttering at the surprise.

She knew what he was asking just by the tone of his voice, but she still hadn't found anything on Slade's whereabouts, yet.

"Still looking," she said, her voice taking on a hard edge. She felt a twinge of annoyance that he even had to ask. If she found anything, she was certain everyone in Verdant would hear her _whoop_ of triumph.

She heard him release a frustrated sigh, and could imagine him running his fist through his hair.

"I'm doing everything I can, Oliver. Just give me a little more time. He's bound to slip up somewhere,"

Her reassurance, however, had gone unnoticed. "We don't have time, Felicity!" The growl he emitted startled her, and she jumped a bit in her seat. _Oh no he didn't just yell at me, _she thought as she spinned around in her chair. He was staring at her computer, threateningly.

"Okay, first of all, you need to stop staring at my computer like that. It's creeping me out." He started to interrupt, but he hesitated at her raised index finger. "And secondly, it's been less than 24 hours, Oliver. You have every right to be upset, and angry, and arrow-y, but taking it out on me will only make us both cranky. And I don't work well under cranky conditions." Her voice broke a bit at the end, fatigue and frustration getting to her. The pressure to find Slade grew more intense by the hour, and she knew it was up to her to figure out where he was.

His face relaxed a bit, and she could see regret flash through his eyes. He walked towards her, putting his hand on her shoulder in apology.

"Hey," he started, rubbing slow circles on her shoulder as he gazed into her eyes. God, she could get lost in those eyes. The blue so mysterious and deep, it made her yearn to uncover all of his secrets. "You know I didn't mean to raise my voice. With Diggle away helping Lyla, and trying to protect my family, and everyone else I care about," he looked at her pointedly before continuing, "I just feel like I'm back on the island again. No control over anything."

Felicity raised her hand to cover his on her shoulder. She knew he was under a lot of pressure too.

"I know. And we will find him, I promise." They gazed at each other for a few seconds more before Oliver squeezed her hand, and retracted his. She stared at his retreating form for a moment before turning back to her computer.

"Where are we at with Sara and Roy?" Felicity knew everyone was busy preparing for the onslaught of whatever Slade Wilson had up his sleeve.

Behind her, Oliver was stretching. Wrapping his hands to prepare to let out some steam on the practice dummy.

"Sara took Roy to an old warehouse a few blocks from here to teach him more control. Maybe she'll have better luck with him than I've had." He said, bouncing on his feet a bit, before squaring his shoulders and preparing for the first strike.

"Hopefully it works. If Slade is as powerful as you say he is, we'll need Roy at his best." Oliver grunted his agreement. The next thing that Felicity heard was the crunch of wood snapping as Oliver broke another dummy.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything.

A/N: Excuse any mistakes or spelling errors. I am the writer/editor/mistake maker.  
Enjoy!

Chapter Two 

When Felicity finally decided to leave, Oliver had insisted on walking her out to her car. "Be careful, okay?" He demanded as he closed the door for her. She rolled down her window to reply, "I will be. I'm going straight home, I promise. I won't pass go or collect $200 hundred dollars."

Oliver quirked an eyebrow and Felicity sighed, her hands hitting the steering wheel in distress, "Monopoly, Oliver! Come on! I know for a fact that you played Monopoly before your little stint on the island," Oliver smirked and shook his head. Heat bloomed in her chest as she internally prided herself on making him smile, if only for a moment.

"Get some sleep, Felicity. You've been working hard all day." She nodded, and wished him the same, knowing it was moot. He would be up all night, planning, strategizing, and training; preparing for the inevitable showdown with Slade.

Felicity sighed tiredly as she pulled into the parking space outside of her building. "Home, sweet, home..." She mumbled, grabbing her purse and her phone before exiting the car.  
But as she got out of the car, and prepared to shut the door, she noticed a reflection in the window. It was of a large, bulky man with an eye patch over his right eye. Clutching her purse to her chest, she turned around quickly, prepared to give him everything of value that she had.

"Ms. Smoak," He drawled smoothly, and her heart stopped. She'd heard that voice before. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you," before she could scream, he withdrew a needle from behind his back, and sank it into her neck. Her vision blurred as he hefted her body over his shoulder. Then everything went black.

The first thing she noticed was the ache in her head as she started to wake up. It was more than an ache, actually. Pounding would be better suited to describe the current status of her brain at this point.

"Ugh," she moaned, as she began to stretch. Working late was starting to get to her. Her train of thought stopped there as she recalled her memories from the previous night. _Leaving the foundry, arriving at home, the man with the eye patch, the needle in her neck_... _Oh God, _she thought as her eyes snapped open. Everything was blurry, but she could just make out the silhouette of the man sitting in the chair in front of her.

She let out a small shriek as she scooted backwards on the hard, concrete floor, before her back hit a wall. The man, who she could barely see at all now, let out a deep, rich laugh. _I've heard that voice before, _she thought. It was through the speaker phone, in the foundry. It was the voice of the man who was in Oliver's house last night. It was the voice of Slade Wilson.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own the characters. **

**A/N: So, those darker themes I was mentioning earlier? Yeah, well, they start to rear their ugly heads soon. Nothing too dark in this chapter, but it is a lead in to chapter fours themes, which are most definetly dark.**

Chapter Three

Fear gripped Felicity cold and tight as the man stood up and drew closer to her. She looked around, but could see virtually nothing without her glasses. She tried squinting, but her nearsightedness prevented her from seeing anything but the approaching man and empty space. Pressing herself against the wall tighter, she leveled her gaze at Slade as he stopped in front of her. He squatted down to her level, resting his large arms on his thighs and took in her appearance.

Felicity felt like a caged animal under his one-eyed gaze, as she tugged her dress down against her knees. He noticed her attempt at modesty and laughed heartily, sending a shiver down her spine. _Please Oliver, hurry._ She thought and instantly regretted it. Depending on how long she had been knocked out, Oliver probably had no idea that she was missing yet. Her heart sank heavily in her chest at the realization.

Reaching out to Felicity, Slade finally spoke, "My, my, Ms. Smoak. Oliver has been keeping you locked up for too long." His gaze ran over her legs and the hand that shot out did too. Modesty forgotten, Felicity curled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly.

Tears pooled in her eyes as Slade sighed, and let out a _tsk, tsk. _Then, he stood up, his frame towering over her menacingly. Felicity could hear her heart beating against her chest, as she realized she had no way of defending herself against Slade. He had the Mirakuru in him, just like Roy. And she had seen what Roy could do.

Reaching down, Slade grabbed Felicity's arm and tugged her up. She winced at the pain and whimpered in fear. She had to calm down, and use her brain. She had a good brain, a big brain at that. She may not be able to outfight him, but she could outsmart him.

He hauled her back over to the middle of the room, where she had initially woken up, and threw her back down as he sat on the chair.

Smoothing his hands down his dress pants, as if wiping off dirt, Slade quirked his head at her before speaking, "Try to stay put this time, Ms. Smoak. Next time, I won't be so gentle."

Felicity nodded, already feeling the bruise forming on her arm where he had grabbed her. If that was gentle, she would hate to see what he considered rough.

With her breathing, mildly, under control, she finally spoke up, "Why am I here?" She asked, unable to keep the shaking out of her voice. It sounded raspy and dry, unfamiliar to her own ears.

Slade, who apparently found her a comedian, laughed again. "Don't play coy with me. We both know why your here." His voice took on a hard edge as he hissed, "Oliver Queen's little sidekick." He hissed as he stood up quickly, knocking the chair back. She jumped at his newfound anger, unable to stop her body from trembling from fear.

He looked back down at her, and she knew he could see the effect he had on her. "Laurel was my first option, you know. He pined away for her every day on the island. Drove me mad!" He was pacing now, as he continued talking. "But the longer I observed him, the more I seen. It was when I had that drug dealer, oh what was his name..." he drew out, putting a finger to his lips in false contemplation, "The Count, that's it. When I had the Count take you, that's when I knew he loved you." He looked at her again, and she could see the madness swirl in his eye. She knew even her wit couldn't get her out of this one. He was too far gone. But she had to try.

"You're wrong. It's not like that with us," She couldn't keep the tears out of her voice, and she felt betrayed. God, why wasn't she strong enough. "Oliver and I... we're just friends. That's all," she finished, unable to say anymore.

Slade shook his head as he drew closer to her. "He loves you, Felicity," she shuddered with unease as he used her first name. "He see's you as the innocence that he no longer has, that he lost on the island." He spat, again squatting on the floor in front of her. She recoiled away as much as possible as he continued. "So, he tries to keep you hidden, distancing himself from you in the public eye. But I figured it out. I figured out what Oliver Queen loves the most," His voice took on a sinister edge, and a smile cut across his face as he grabbed her chin forcefully, bringing her face level with his own.

"You," he squeezed her jaw, and she trembled. "And now, I will take that away."

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**A/N: I hope I haven't scared anyone off yet! And, for those of you that have stuck around this far, I thank you immensely. The next chapter is not for the fair-hearted. It is a pretty explicit sexual assault scene (sorry for that spoiler, but I do want to give fair warning). **  
**Until then, I hope I am worthy of a review or two, and if not, I appreciate you anyway! :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own none of the characters. **

**A/N: WARNING AHEAD. Do not proceed if rape/sexual assault is a sensitive subject. Sorry if I sound like a broken record, I feel like I've made it pretty clear what this story contains, but I'd rather be cautious. **

Chapter Four 

Felicity never gave much thought to how she would die. She hoped that it would be at an old age, in her sleep, lost in her dreams. Now it looked to be here, in this warehouse, by the hands of a crazed super soldier.

"Please," she begged, knowing that she could do nothing else. Oliver hadn't mentioned much about Slade or the island, but he had said that they were friends once. Maybe he still had some humanity left in him. "Don't do this."

His grip on her chin was still firm, as he moved closer to her. She squeezed her eyes tight, unwilling to look at his single, beady eye. She felt his body touching her's as his voice was by her ear, "Too late," he rasped, letting go of her chin.

She opened her eyes, confused. He met her eyes once more before he grasped her hair tightly, and jerked her neck back. She gasped at the pain, as he lifted his right knee off of the ground and put it between her legs.

"Oh, sweet Felicity..." he drew her neck close and she knew she couldn't control the tears any longer. "It must have killed Oliver too keep his hands off of you for so long. He was never any good at control..." Felicity's eyes darted to her knee, where Slade's free hand was pushing it apart. Crying out, she tried to push against his hand, but it was to no avail. He was too strong. Once her knees were apart, Slade brought his left knee over, now kneeling between her legs.

Felicity had been keeping her weight up on her right arm, but her trembling was so intense, her elbow folded under the pressure. Pulling her up by the hair, Slade forced her to look into his eye. He laughed as he spoke, "Oh, he'll regret that now. Because once I have you, he won't even be able to look at you." Felicity's heart froze in her chest. Slade wasn't going to kill her, she realized. He was going to do something much worse.

He let go of her hair, and she fell against the concrete floor, hard. Slade's hands were at her thighs, pushing the skirt of her dress up. _No, this is not happening_, she thought. Quickly, she tried to fight back, sitting up, and clawing at his face. He yelled as she caught his eyepatch, and ripped it off, revealing a grotesque hole where his eye should be. She gasped, momentarily startled, and he laughed. "Like what you see?" He asked, grabbing both of her hands in one of his, and forcing them over her head, back onto the cold concrete.

His hand was an immovable restraint on her wrist. She clawed, pushed, and pulled, against his iron grasp but he didn't even flinch. She was trapped. Still, she had her legs, and her heels. Biting the bullet, Felicity wrapped her legs around Slade, digging the sharp points of her shoes into his back.

She was hoping to cause him pain, or weakness, any sign of relent so she could break from his grip.

However, he took it as a challenge. With his free hand, he grasped her right breast in a bruising squeeze, causing Felicity to arch her back in pain. "Please stop!" She screamed, not caring if he saw how weak and scared she actually was. She didn't want this to happen, anything but this.

He chuckled, "The kid is going to love this,".

He released her breast, going back to manage the skirt of her dress, pushing it up to her abdomen. She glanced down as his hand grabbed at her underwear, pulling them roughly from her body.

The elastic cut into her skin as he tried to rip them free. They shredded, leaving strings of cotton and elastic streaming down her thighs.

She closed her eyes tightly, willing Oliver or Diggle to come help her. _Please, please, please, somebody help me. _

Finally, she felt his fingers on her most private area, and tried to squeeze her thighs shut, knowing that she couldn't. Her cries and screams echoed off of the walls, burning into her memories. "You really are a lovely thing, Felicity," he purred. The sound of him unzipping his pants was almost her undoing. She fought against him so hard, that she had almost broke his grip on her hands.

Nevertheless, she wasn't quick enough. The feeling of him entering her tore her open in more ways than one.

He was fast, and rough, and harsh, and she no longer had the will to fight against his strength.

She closed her eyes and ignored the words and grunts Slade growled at her. She thought of the foundry, and her computers. The comfort of her chair and her desk. She thought of the small dog bobble head that sat on that desk. Oliver had gotten it for her last year as a Christmas gift, after she confessed to wanting a real life dog, but her landlord wouldn't allow it.

She wanted to go back to the foundry. Nothing could hurt her there; she'd always been safe there. She should have never left.

The feeling of Slade sliding out of her left her feeling sick and hollow. Her eyes were still shut as she heard him zip up his pants, and remove his hands from her wrist. She didn't move, though. She didn't want too.

"Now you're both ruined," he said, before she heard his footsteps retreating and a door slamming shut.

Sitting up, Felicity leaned over and purged herself of the sickness that she felt inside of her, hoping to find some relief in the release of the acidic bile coursing through her body. Afterwards, she lay back onto the floor and cried. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours, she wasn't sure. Finally, opening her eyes, she saw her glasses lying by the overturned chair.  
It was time for her to find a way out of here.

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**A/N: Sorry for that. It was tough to write, and I didn't relish it. The chance to explore the characters, and how I think they would react to situations such as this, is what motivated me to follow through. Oliver's character is very expressive emotionally, and with the recent episodes and the season two finale, we are seeing more depth to Felicity's character, which I thoroughly enjoy. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**A/N: Thanks for the kind reviews and the interest everybody! I appreciate it! **

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Chapter Five 

Felicity ignored the pain in her body and between her legs as she stood up and tugged her floral patterned dress skirt back down to her thighs. On shaky legs, she walked the small distance to the overturned chair and retrieved her glasses. Once she could finally see her surroundings she realized that she was in a warehouse like she had first suspected. There were a few boxes and crates littered about but mostly it was just empty space.

Turning around in a slow circle, she looked for any sign of a door or a window that she could escape through. The first door that she noticed was positioned directly in front of the chair, about 50 feet away. She shuddered as she realized that was the door that _he_ had gone through. Felicity would rather stay in this room for the rest of her life than have a potential run in with Slade again.

The second door that she saw was to the left of her. It was a large double door; one that she figured was primarily used for unloading shipments into the warehouse. If that was the case, the door should lead her directly outside. Hope momentarily bloomed in her chest as she made her way towards it.

All that held the door in place was a single bar of wood stretching across both doors. Suspicion flooded her, replacing her hope with doubt. Surely escape wouldn't be this easy.

Shaking off the thoughts, Felicity lifted the bar of wood from the brackets on each door and pushed through. Cold, dawn air assaulted her lungs and stung her sweat soaked skin as she took in her surroundings. Tears pricked her eyes as she recognized where she was at: she was in the Glades, two buildings away from Verdant.

Glancing at her swollen feet, she mustered up all the adrenaline that she had left in her body and took off running. She needed to get away from the warehouse, and from Verdant, as quick as humanly possible before she changed her mind. She could already feel the magnetic pull towards the safety of the underground lair, knowing she would be protected there. Knowing that Oliver was there.

But that was the point, wasn't it? The location and the easy escape. Slade would assume she would run to Oliver as soon as she found her way out of the warehouse. He wanted Felicity to tell him what had happened to her, why she had blood caked between her thighs.

But Slade underestimated her willpower. Felicity would erase all evidence of this night and put it behind her the best that she knew how. And then, when the mess was all cleaned up, she would never, ever, tell anyone what happened.

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**A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter guys! Reviews and encouragement are appreciated! ;) **

** annieharp84: Thank you! Hopefully next chapter will answer your question a little better! :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**A/N: Any editing errors, spelling mistakes, and lack of good explanation are entirely my fault! Thanks for reading this mess. :) **

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Chapter Six 

It took Felicity 15 minutes to reach her destination. The short walk to the hospital in the Glades gave her time to mull over what she was going to do. After she had made it a safe distance away from the warehouse, she realized that she had to go to a hospital. _He_ hadn't used protection and the evidence of that was sticky underneath her skirt. Nausea rolled in her stomach at the thought and Felicity had to lean against the building for a moment to collect her bearings. _Everything will be okay, everything will be fine, _she repeated in her mind like a mantra. Steeling her nerves, she straightened her back and headed towards the hospital doors. _Time to get this over with. _

The nurse had insisted that she contact the police to make an official report against the assailant but Felicity rejected the idea immediately. Airing out to the SCPD what had happened would only cause problems that she wasn't willing to deal with. Besides, even if she told the police who did it, it wasn't like they could do anything about it. No one could stop Slade; at least not right now.

Felicity squeezed her eyes shut tight during the examination, unwilling to face another invasion of her body so soon after the first one, even if she knew it had to be done. When the exam was over the nurse instructed her into a small bathroom so that she could clean up, promising to return with a change of clothes for her to wear home. Felicity nodded and headed towards the small tub as the nurse shut the door. Blood swirled in the water as she washed her private areas, making her gag. Bending over, Felicity heaved up whatever remaining contents she had left in her stomach. The bile mixed with the blood only seemed to cause more gagging but there was nothing left in her stomach to empty. Sitting on the edge of the ceramic tub, she put her head in her hands and cried._ Why did this happen? Why wasn't I strong enough? _If it had been Sara in her place, she would have at least put up a convincing fight before he had his way with her. But no, she was the brains of the group, lacking any physical ability to defend herself against him or any other person who sought to take advantage of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door signaling the return of the nurse. Ignoring the tub, Felicity headed for the sink and splashed cool water onto her face. Glancing into the mirror, she noticed her pale reflection; the only signs of color were the blotchy red under her eyes from crying. Her blonde hair was a greasy mess, making her yearn for home and the shower that awaited there.

Once she entered the examination room again, the nurse handed her the scrub pants and t-shirt. Felicity accepted them with a nod and a forced smile.

The nurse was older with motherly features, her kind eyes providing Felicity with a fleeting sense of comfort. She walked over to the desk in the corner of the room and picked up a white prescription bag, bringing it over to Felicity. She took it with trembling hands.

"I've put two different prescriptions in there for you, dear. One is the Plan B pill. It is more likely to prevent pregnancy if taken 24 hours after intercourse," Felicity winced at the thought causing the older woman to break eye contact with her. A look of pity crossed the nurse's face as she continued to speak, "The other script is just a simple pain reliever. You may be sore for the next couple of days, but as long as you take it easy you should heal quickly."

"Thank you," Felicity said, already reaching inside the bag for the Plan B pill.

The nurse gave her a sad smile before saying, "The doctor will come in after you're dressed to administer some antibiotics. Then you can head home."

Felicity hailed a cab twenty minutes later. After she had taken the pill and changed, the doctor had come in to give her the antibiotic shots and a few vaccinations. She told her that the STD test results would be in later today or tomorrow, prompting Felicity for an e-mail address to send the results too. Felicity obliged, thankful for the rush that the doctor had put on the labs knowing she would be anxious until she knew the outcome of the results.

It was nearly 10 a.m. by the time that Felicity arrived at her apartment. As the cab pulled up to her building, she spotted her red Mini Cooper still in the spot that she had left it. Telling him to wait, she got out of the cab and made her way towards her car. Felicity prayed that the money she usually kept stashed in the glove compartment for parking garages and meters was still there. She knew that the car had sat unlocked all night, so she couldn't be sure.

As she opened the car door, however, she didn't have to search long for cash. Her purse, along with her keys and cell phone that she had dropped on the ground the night before, were lying in the driver's seat of the car. Gooseflesh rose on her skin as she realized Slade must have put them in the car before hauling her off to the warehouse. Picking up her purse, she angrily shoved her hands inside to fish out some cash. _How thoughtful_, she thought with disgust as she paid the cabbie and made her way to her apartment.

Pulling out her keys, Felicity noticed a folded piece of paper strung to one of her key chains. Cold dread washed over her as she tugged it loose from the key ring and unfolded it.

_He'll find out._

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**A/N: Were finally going to get back to some more dialogue in the next chapters, thank God! And more Oliver/Felicity interactions, which is what's really important here. ;) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for their encouraging reviews! I'm typically a slow writer, but the reviews are so encouraging and thoughtful, I find myself hard pressed to leave my computer ;) **

**Thanks again! **

** Donna Lynn: Thank you so, so much for your reviews and kind words! I do struggle to balance out the chapters, and I will defintely try to add more words to each one before wrapping them up. Thanks for the suggestion. And yes, Diggle and Oliver will be back soon. ;) **

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Chapter Seven 

It had been two days since Slade's attack on Felicity, and she'd yet to leave her apartment. She had to come to terms with what had happened and how she would face Oliver, and everyone else for that matter. Slade's note had wormed itself inside of her like a disease and she couldn't get it out of her head.

_He'll find out._

The thought of Oliver finding out haunted her. Would he realize something was different about her when she saw him again? **Would** she be different around him?

Her head was a mess and she didn't know how to deal with any of this. Every time she looked into a mirror she saw the weak woman that Slade had made her out to be.

She called Oliver a few hours after she had left the hospital, insisting that she was too sick to come into Queen Consolidated or the foundry that day. He had been frustrated and insistent that she at least come to the foundry that night, but when he heard the tremble in her voice, he let it go. Felicity felt guilty for not showing up, especially right now while Diggle still hadn't returned from his mission. But she was ill and that wasn't a lie.

She was sick with herself and what had happened to her in that warehouse; she was disgusted at having to keep this from Oliver, knowing that it would only make matters worse if he found out; but most importantly, she was so revolted by Slade Wilson that she didn't know how she could help Oliver track him down without purging at the sound of his name.

Felicity spent the most of her first day back in bed trying to sleep. She'd taken over the recommended dose of melatonin to aid her slumber, but she was still restless. Slade had taken over her daily thoughts as well as the ones in her subconscious; she couldn't escape him.

When she finally decided to get out of bed on the second day, she was still unprepared to face anyone. She sent Oliver a text, telling him that she had the flu and didn't want to risk giving it to him or anyone else while Slade was still at large. He relented easily, admitting that the long hours he'd subjected her to was the cause of her illness.

"Great, more guilt," she said aloud as she threw her phone across the bed and rubbed at her temples.

Felicity actually tried to be productive on her final day at home. Most of the mishap's she had encountered in her life had, unsurprisingly, happened in the last year and half that she had been associated with Team Arrow. From the earthquake in the Glade's to being kidnapped by The Count, these were the most traumatizing experiences that Felicity had endured in her 25 years of life. In those instances, she'd always had Diggle and Oliver to help her through the aftermath. They comforted her and made assurances of safety that she didn't realize she had relied on until this moment. Now she had to depend on herself and her computer to help make things right.

She decided research was her best option for healing. She recognized that she had to learn how to interact with people without them knowing that something was off with her. Felicity could barely look at herself; how was she going to react when Oliver met her eyes for the first time. She shuddered at the thought.

Bringing up her search browser, Felicity began her hunt.

She started by searching 'How to interact with people after sexual assault'. As the engine explored, Felicity closed her eyes and tried to disconnect from the research. "It's just research. Think of it like a project you're doing for someone else_,"_ she said as she opened her eyes to look at the results.

The first result was of an academic journal detailing victim's reactions to sexual assault. She was taking in the information better than expected, until the third paragraph down mentioned the word _rape. _She slammed the lid to her laptop shut quickly, refusing to acknowledge the word in her head.

She needed a shower.

After she felt that she had adequately washed the vile word out of system and off of her skin, Felicity took in her reflection in the full length mirror. Aside from the fading bruises on her wrists and thighs, she looked the same as she always had: blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. But when she tried to meet her eyes in the mirror, to confront herself, she couldn't do it. What kind of person couldn't even look themselves in the eye?

Wrapping her towel around herself tighter, she leveled her stare at her reflection and spoke, "Hey guys, what's up?"

She winced at the false sincerity and tried again, "What have you guys been up to?"

Over and over she practiced conversations with herself in the mirror, preparing herself for tomorrow.

She would be ready.

* * *

Felicity walked into the foundry late the next day. She had decided multiple times that she wasn't ready before steeling herself and taking the plunge. She was thankful that it was Saturday and that she didn't have to make an appearance at QC.

She gripped her purse tight as she walked down the stairs, uncertain of what to say to her friends when she saw them. But, as her left heel hit the ground floor, she noticed that no one was there. Well, someone was there. The computers and the lights were on, but no one was in the interior part of the room at this particular moment. Felicity sighed in relief as she made her way towards her desk. Taking off her jacket, she tugged at the hem of her sweater dress and took a seat. This was going to be fine; she would be fine.

Leaning back in the chair, she inhaled the scent of leather and basement musk, a strange, yet comforting smell that seemed to calm her down immediately. In spite of everything that had happened, Felicity couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she settled into her niche. She was safe here.

As she swiveled towards her desk, she began running a diagnostics check on the system. But before she could get the program up on her second monitor, her attention was focused on the small bobble head sitting beside her mouse pad. The plastic beagles' head bobbed up and down as she leaned her elbow on the desk. Cupping the small toy between her hands Felicity cradled it to her chest, and began weeping silently.

"Felicity?" Oliver's curious tone broke her reverie and his footsteps picked up their pace. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" His hand landed on her shoulder before she could turn to meet his eyes. She involuntarily tensed at the feeling of his touch on her body, and he immediately removed his hand. She knew she had to turn around now.

Plastering a smile on her face she sat the dog down and turned towards him. "I'm fine, promise. I just..." she hesitated looking up at his face. Her gaze landed on his eyes and she found herself unable to speak.

Could he tell? Was it obvious? Fear, shame, and disgust all flared through her as she broke the contact. Was she that transparent? Her head shook in denial as her blood hammered in her ears; she didn't hear Oliver speak until he turned her chair around and looked at her.

"What's going on? Are you still feeling sick?" He inquired thoughtfully, crouching down to her level. She met his stare once more and saw the worried curiosity swirling in his blue eyes. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. _Better to overreact now rather than later_, she thought as she focused her gaze on his eyebrow. It was safer than looking him directly in the eyes again.

She shook her head, mustering up her false smile again. "Everything is fine; I'm fine," _liar, _her mind spat. "I just really missed my bobble head."

She could see his features soften in her periphery as he patted her arm lightly and stood up. This time she didn't tense.

* * *

**A/N: It's difficult to comprehend how someone would react to a trauma, especially one like sexual abuse. I sincerely hope I have done our girl justice here. It's hard to imagine Felicity doubting herself and feeling depressed because her character is so alive and exuberant. **  
**Also, remember the bobble head reference from Chapter 4? :) **  
**I will try hard to get a few more chapters in before the work week starts on Tuesday (Yay! Memorial Day break!). After that I may be a little slow on updates! But do not fear! As long as I still have interest, I will never quit this story. :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly.**

**A/N: This chapter picks up where the last chapter left off. Hope you guys enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter Eight 

Her heart hammered in her chest as Oliver began to speak. She had to calm down.

"We still haven't found anything on Slade's whereabouts yet," He said from behind her. He was starting to pace. "Roy's been scoping out the Glade's and asking around, but nobody's seen anything," he voice had grown deeper taking on an edge usually reserved for when he was the Arrow.

Swallowing hard, Felicity turned around to look at him. He had a wrinkle between his brow and his fists were balled up tight by his sides as he stared at his quiver.

She was torn, unsure of what to do. She did have a lead on Slade, or at least she knew one place that he had been in the last week: the warehouse. But how could she tell Oliver without telling him how she knew he had been there. _Think Felicity think_, her brained screamed.

"Have you had any luck?" Her head jerked in his direction at the question. Still unable to meet his eyes she took in the other features on his face. The softening of the worry lines around his brow as he looked at her with hope made her insides twist bitterly. Turning back towards her computers, she brought up a few programs to busy her hands and replied, "I'm working on it."

The sound of heavy footsteps coming from the club broke her concentration. Glancing over her shoulder, Felicity saw John Diggle emerge from the shadows. She sighed with relief as she shook her head, _who else would it be? _

Shaking off the thoughts, she watched as he dropped his duffle on the floor and smiled. "Man have I missed this place."

He walked towards Oliver first, who greeted him with a squeeze of his shoulder, "Good to have you back. Is everything okay now?" They looked at each other knowingly as Diggle nodded in reply, "It all worked out." He said with finality. Oliver tipped his head in understanding as he turned back to his arrows.

When Dig came towards her, she was unsure of what to do. _What would I have done a week ago? _She thought, her mind trying to remember a time past these last few days. She had always been affectionate towards Diggle. Hugs and proximity were never something that she thought about before now. But this was John, one of her best friends. He would never hurt her or judge her, he was her protector.

Bracing herself against the arms of the chair for a moment, Felicity stood up, making sure to tug her dress down to her knees, and walked towards him. She met his eyes briefly and she could see the quizzical look in them. He knew something was wrong. Her heart rate increased. Stepping into his personal space, Felicity stood on her toes as she embraced him. It felt strange, different than before. Everything felt different than before. But she closed her eyes and ignored the awkward feeling as she gave him a small squeeze. "Glad your back," she said, he right cheek leaning against his firm chest. She felt him nod as he pulled back, each of his hands on her shoulders as he tried to capture her gaze. She tried not to stiffen at his nearness. _This is Diggle, _she kept repeating in her head finally meeting his eyes.

His brown orbs were full of questions and curiosity, more so than Oliver's were just a few hours before. "Is everything okay?" He asked, his voice low and concerned. **_No_** her mind screamed trying to force its way past her lips. Felicity smiled, biting her tongue. She didn't trust herself, not with Diggle looking at her like that; like he knew that the person he saw last week was different than the broken girl who stood here now.

"Yep, I am a-okay." Her voice sounded false to her own ears but she continued, "I've had the flu for the last few days, so you should probably steer clear of the IT girl." She laughed waving her hands around wildly. It seemed to do the trick, because Diggle shook his head and laughed, removing his hands from her shoulders. She smiled in return as she turned back to her desk.

As soon as her face was out of sight, Felicity dropped her smile and returned to work, hoping that this charade would become easier.

* * *

She hadn't realized that she dozed off until she felt the arms around her shoulders, forcing her into consciousness.

She whimpered at the uninvited touch. "Please stop," she choked out before she opened her eyes. The hands on her back left her immediately as she darted up and gathered her bearings. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Felicity took in her surroundings. She was still in the foundry. She sighed in relief, not realizing how hard her heart had been hammering in her chest.

"Felicity," She looked up seeing Oliver staring back at her. He looked hurt and worried and she wondered what had happened to put that look on his face.

He swallowed hard, his Adams Apple bobbing in his throat. "You were crying in your sleep," his lifted his hand towards her as if he were going to touch her again, then thought better of it, lowering it to his side.

A sharp pain blossomed in her chest and she felt short of breathe. Slade was right, if Oliver ever found out what he'd done to her, he would never touch her again; the proof was right here in front of her. Just one bad dream and he was already shying away.

"Tell me what's going on, Felicity," he pleaded, "Please."

Taking a chance, she met his eyes once more trying to gauge what he saw in her. Worry danced in his iris's as he waited for her response.

Stuffing her hands under the outside of her thighs she gave a weak laugh, "Honestly," she started, staring at his eyebrow again, "It's this medicine the doctors gave me for the flu. I mean, I have had some crazy dreams these past few days." She hoped her tone came off as whimsical.

Oliver quirked his eyebrow as his left hand balled into a fist, "Oh yeah? What kind of dreams?"

Felicity unconsciously rubbed at her bruised wrists beneath her long sleeves, forcing the memory of Slade's grasp from her mind.

She shuddered as she replied, "Viruses, Oliver. Uncrackable computer viruses." She paused, whispering as her mind was thinking of something else, "It was horrible."

He was quiet for a moment before his shoulders shook with laughter. Meeting his eyes she saw that the worry that had plagued them moments before were completely gone.

"Only you, Felicity Smoak." He said, walking away from her.

* * *

**A/N: I hope it didn't come off that Felicity was scared of Diggle, because she is not. Also, I feel like Diggle is more perceptive when it comes to Felicity and Oliver's emotions; I mean we see that a lot in the show.  
Also, both Diggle and Oliver know something is 'off' with Felicity. I think Diggle knows it's more than the flu, though. Oliver, however, can be a little transparent. (Am I right?). **

**We'll start getting back into the action and plot of the story for the next chapter, so yay! Haha!**  
**And, I want to apologize in advance. I was hoping to post one more chapter tonight, but that may have to wait until tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. :( **  
**Feedback, is as always, appreciated! Bless you all. :) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: Thanks, yet again, for the lovely reviews, follows, and favorites!**  
**I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I know it's been a slow build and lacking of conflict/plot, but things start to pick up in this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter Nine

It had been two weeks since Felicity had returned to work at QC. She was finding herself getting back into the whole routine of daily life and foundry work a little bit easier. The attack was still raw in her memory and she hadn't been sleeping much, but she could always attribute that to searching for Slade.

Everyone was on their last thread. Every time they had stumbled across a clue or a potential location it inevitably turned out to be a trick set by Slade and his accomplices to toy with Oliver.

The fact that Slade always seemed to be one step ahead of them did not go unnoticed by the group, prompting them to discuss Arrow business in the foundry, the only place they knew Slade couldn't access.

Diggle sat on the edge of Felicity's desk, watching Oliver and Sara spar with each other as he spoke quietly to Felicity. "Their wearing themselves too thin, it won't help any of us if their tired when Slade finally comes knocking." Felicity's fingers hesitated on her keyboard. Dig was right, they were unprepared for Slade. Even with their team: an assassin, an archer, a soldier, a super human and a computer expert, they still couldn't find one 'real' lead on Slade. She sighed as she turned towards him.

"I know," she said, her voice thick with fatigue, "What are we gonna do?"

It was a question each of them had asked in the weeks that they'd been searching for Slade. Diggle shook his head in response as he crossed his arms over his chest. Felicity heard the fighting behind her halt and she knew that the duo had stopped their training for the night. She turned back to her computers as Oliver made his way towards her and John.

His breathing was labored as he spoke, "I think I have an idea." She couldn't help the smirk that colored her face when he said that. She had heard Oliver say that he had an idea at least three times a week since the search for Slade began. Oliver cleared his throat, no doubt seeing the look on Felicity's face. "I'm serious."

John nodded, giving him the go ahead to share his new scheme.

"We throw a party." This time Felicity couldn't control the eye roll or huff that escaped her lips. _Of course Oliver Queen would try to solve a problem with a party. We've never seen him do __**that**__ before, _she thought sardonically.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her while Diggle chuckled. "Let me finish," his voice began to take on the Arrow edge but Felicity wasn't fazed. She'd experienced things far more frightening than that, shuddering as she pushed those memories to the back of her mind.

Oliver wiped the sweat from his forehead as he continued, "It would be a benefit for my mother and her campaign. Since Slade is one of her 'supporters'," Oliver's fists clinched involuntarily at his sides as he continued, "...he would be obligated to show up."

Sara, who had been standing off to the side moved in closer to Oliver, her arm grazing his as she spoke up.

"Once he's inside the party, we'll need someone to get close enough to him in order to plant a tracker," her gaze landed on Felicity.

Her hand, which had been toying with a strand of loose hair stopped immediately as she processed what Sara was implying. They wanted her to plant the bug on Slade. Fear sliced through her stomach as Felicity grasped the arm of her computer chair. Her gaze met Oliver's first and she could tell he didn't like the idea. His fists were still clinched and he swallowed hard, but he didn't object. Next she looked to Diggle. His brown eyes stared into hers, reading her fear. His features softened minutely as he began shaking his head.

"No, it's too big of a risk," Felicity eased her iron grasp off of the arm of the chair and relaxed, thankful that someone felt the same as her.

A month ago she would have been gung-ho at the opportunity to do some field work, but the thought of having to interact with Slade felt like an impossible task.

Oliver sighed, his fists unfurling. "Diggle's right. It's too much of a risk." Felicity met Oliver's gaze and she could see the relief and tension ease from his body.

But Sara, not ready to give up on the idea quite yet, spoke further, "Well, what other option do we have left?" She stepped away from Oliver and drew closer to Felicity, her eyes desperate, "Slade knows who we are. He'd never allow us to get close enough to him," Dropping to a squat, Sara leveled her gaze at Felicity. "But he doesn't know about you working with the Arrow. He'd never suspect anything if Oliver's assistant were to brush by him or accidentally run into him; it'd be so easy to plant it on him then." Felicity's blood boiled and in that moment she absolutely hated Sara; she hated her for giving her no viable argument against this plan without revealing the truth; she hated her for being the voice of reason, when that had always been Felicity's role; but mostly, she hated her for being strong enough to defy Oliver and Diggle in convincing her that this was the best plan that they had come up with yet.

Blinking a couple of times, Felicity nodded in agreement. She pressed her mouth closed tightly afraid of the tears that wanted to escape her lips. _Get it together Smoak; this is your chance for redemption. This is your chance for revenge. _The truth in her thoughts made her strong enough to look back up at Diggle and Oliver. Both men looked doubtful and unsure; they'd never liked when she did field work.

When someone finally spoke up, it was Diggle, "Are you sure this is safe, Oliver? Are you really willing to expose everyone you care about to Slade Wilson?"

Oliver's fingers twitched as if tugging on an imaginary bow string, "Of course it's not safe, Diggle." His voice was low and dangerous as he finished, "But Sara's right. _It's the only way._ Slade has already been in my home," his body shook, "If he wanted to hurt anyone he would have done it by now."

* * *

Sara and Diggle left soon after to find Roy and fill him in on the plan. While he wasn't on the best of terms with Oliver right now, everyone agreed he was needed at the benefit just in case things took a turn for the worse. Felicity tried not to dwell on what that might consist of.

She had gone home shortly after their departure, ready to wash this day and this plan off of her skin. _If only it were that easy. _

She struggled to get out of her car immediately when she arrived home. It seemed like it was just yesterday that she had seen Slade's one-eyed gaze meet hers in the reflection of the window. Clamping down on the thoughts, she looked around the parking lot for a few minutes before exiting the car and making her way up to her apartment.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she entered her home, leaning against the door for a moment. _I'm going to help Oliver track down Slade and put an end to him once and for all. Then I'll never have to feel this way again. _

She relished in the prospect of how it would feel to be safe once again. Locking up and dropping her belongings on the couch, Felicity made her way towards her bathroom, ready to clean the day away.

Her skin was red and sensitive as she slipped the cotton robe around her body. She gathered up the pajamas she'd had on the night before and shook the wrinkles out before switching them with her robe. But as she began to untie the robe's knot around her waist, a knock sounded at her window.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she scrambled away from the window.

_Slade._

Her mind was going a million miles a minute as she tried to think of what she should do. Her cell phone was in the living room and she wasn't sure if she had enough time to retrieve it before he broke through her bedroom.

"Felicity," she heard from outside of the window. Her tear filled gaze glanced towards her sheer curtains noting the outline of a hood on her fire escape. Putting a hand to her chest, she walked over to the window and pushed the curtains aside. Oliver stood before her, a smirk glossing his features. Felicity, however, was not impressed. Unlocking the window, she opened it forcefully.

"What are you doing here?" She said her voice tinged with anger and fear. Oliver must have noticed because he dropped the smile, managing to look guilty.

She backed away from the window to grant him entrance into her room. Bow first, Oliver stepped through the threshold into Felicity's personal quarters.

She watched as he took in the organized mess of her room. Her desk was to the left of the window, scattered with remnants of a computer she'd started building over a year ago and never finished. A dresser with pictures of her and a few friends from MIT sat on the dresser with her diploma, making a small smile ghost his features once more. He moved his gaze to the center of the room where her full sized bed was, the sheets and comforter twisted from weeks of nightmares and restless sleep. His eyes lingered there until Felicity broke the silence. "Oliver." Her voice was demanding as she looked at the man before her.

Sheepishly, he lowered his hood and took off his mask before speaking. "I came to see if you were okay," his voice was light as he spoke, as if he were afraid someone might overhear them. He walked a few feet to her bed and sat his bow down. Felicity gulped at the intimacy of the gesture, tightening her robe around her body.

Pacing, Oliver continued talking, "I want you to know that you absolutely do not have to do this thing with Slade." He stopped pacing and looked up at her. "Actually, I'd feel a whole lot better if you weren't there at all. I don't even want you two in the same building. We can figure something else out; hell, I could probably hire someone to plant the tracker on him," he rubbed his hand through his hair as he stepped closer to her.

Felicity didn't know what to say. For a moment she wondered why he didn't confess all of this at the foundry after Sara and Dig had left. Why come all the way over here when he'd never even been here before? Her thoughts were interrupted by Oliver lifting his hand to her shoulder, sliding it down her arm to cup her elbow. Felicity couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her, unsure of whether it was from discomfort or pleasure. A month ago she knew it would have been from the latter.

"Tell me you won't do it, Felicity. Please." His eyes were pleading with hers as she took him in. Warmth bubbled in her tummy at the emotion she saw in his ocean eyes. She knew Oliver would never make her do anything she didn't want to do, including this. As she opened her mouth to tell him that she didn't want to follow through with the plan, the words froze in her throat.

The last few weeks played through her mind's eye: the attack, the endless pursuit of Slade, the failure of not finding him, the constant state of fear she felt when she was alone. Felicity couldn't go on living this way. And she knew that as long as Slade was out there, she would never feel safe.

When she focused back on Oliver, she could tell that he knew her decision was already made. He let out an exasperated sigh and dropped her arm, already walking away.

"It's the only way," she said, mimicking the words he had spoken a few short hours ago. He picked up his bow and made his way to her window. With his mask in place, he pulled up his hood and spared one last glance at her before disappearing into the night.

* * *

**A/N: To me, I feel like Sara may have persuaded Oliver that it was okay for Felicity to be used in putting the tracker on Slade. If there is one thing we know, Oliver's thinking is irrational when it comes to both Slade and Felicity. That's why he had to take time to think everything over and decided he didn't want Slade to set his radar on Felicity (little does he know, right?).**

**On another note, I hope you guys don't think I've progressed things too fast. It may seem like the assault isn't effecting Felicity much, but that is absolutely not true. She is _trying_ to dupe them into believing nothing is wrong with her, and she is, thus far, successful. I've always seen Felicity as a secretive character; I mean we virtually know nothing about her past, aside from her absentee father and that she's Jewish. I think there is a reason we don't know anything yet – that's because Felicity doesn't want anyone to know (or maybe the writers just haven't found time to discuss it, who knows). We also know that Felicity is a pretty good actress when she wants to be i.e. when she goes undercover as a card shark and a delivery woman for Big Belly.**  
**I apologize for such a drawn out note, but I just wanted to clarify everything so that Felicity didn't come off as insincere to what has happened to her.**

**Things will start progressing much faster now (thank goodness) - just bear with me as I try to get it all out of my head! **

**Thank you lovelies for reading! And reviews are always nice ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing. **

**A/N: First I want to apologize for taking so long to update! I knew I wouldn't be able to write anymore on this until I finished City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (A book I've been waiting two years to read! I highly suggest her books to any and everyone!). And then I had work and blah, blah, blah, that's the end of my excuses! :) Also, any editting, mistakes, grammer mishapes, etc, are my own doing, so I apologize beforehand if you encounter any that I missed. **  
**I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

Chapter Ten 

Her breathing was shallow as she picked up a flute of champagne from a tray that passed her. Tipping her head back, Felicity downed the bubbly in one gulp. _This is fine, I am fine. _The voice in her head, or rather Oliver's voice coming through the comm link, repeated her sentiment.

"You're going to be fine Felicity. We won't let anything happen to you." _Too late, _she thought as she looked around Verdant, where the benefit was taking place. The place was completely transformed from a night time hotspot into a gala fit for a president. In this case it was for Moira Queen's mayoral campaign.

Felicity had been ghosting around the party for the last half an hour, mingling and scoping out the area. Oliver had insisted that she keep her distance from him and Diggle while they were there, not wanting Slade to think they were closer than assistant and boss should be.

She had to fight back a sarcastic laugh that threatened its way out of her throat at the thought. It killed her keeping secrets from Oliver and Diggle, to withhold from them how much Slade already knew about them. She felt like she was betraying the team.

She scratched at her shoulder, regretting the navy blue cocktail dress she opted for this evening. While it was modest for a cocktail dress, the neck and shoulder line was trimmed with lace, making Felicity feel itchy and uncomfortable - More so than she already was.

"He's here," Diggle's voice was calm as it entered her ear through the link, unknowing the effect those two words would have on Felicity.

Her first instinct was to run - get out of Verdant and away from Slade Wilson as soon as she could. Her grip on the champagne flute was unrelenting and she wasn't sure if she could move. "He's heading towards you and your mother, Oliver."

Felicity could hear the blood rush through her ears as she listened to Moira greet Slade through Oliver's comm. The low sound of a 'pop' echoed through her ear and she knew it was Oliver's jaw tightening.

"I'm glad to be here, Moira." Slade sounded jovial and it made Felicity's stomach lurch. "You look stunning," he said, his accent clear as crystal through her ear. It was in that moment that Felicity knew that she couldn't go through with this plan - she couldn't face Slade and be okay afterwards.

Turning completely away from where she knew Oliver and Slade to be, she headed towards the bar, needing a drink before she made her swift escape to the foundry.

"Felicity, where did you go? We need you in place. Slade's about to move again." She had been successfully ignoring the voices in her ear for the last few minutes when Diggle's urgency snapped her back to reality.

She shook her head, all the while knowing he couldn't see her, "I can't do it. I thought I could, but I can't." She knew she would have to explain why she backed out on their plan when this was all over but she didn't care. The thought of having to get close enough to Slade to plant the GPS device on him was almost her undoing.

She pushed back the blonde curls that had made their way across her face and noticed the bartender giving her a strange look. She cringed as she realized he heard her talking out loud. _Oh well._

"Felicity, what's going on? We need you right now." Oliver's voice was low and demanding and she felt torn by her decision to agree to this situation. She should have told Oliver that she couldn't do this days ago, when he came to her apartment begging her to let them find another way to put the tracker on Slade. Now she had ruined everything. Opening her gold clutch to retrieve the small device, an inconspicuous metal bead, Felicity held it tightly in her hand as she walked towards Oliver. The fact that he was speaking to her through the comm indicated that Slade wasn't near him anymore.

Swallowing back shame she addressed him, "I'm sorry. I'm coming towards you right now to give it back to you. Maybe you can..." but she never finished her sentence.

Felicity didn't have to look behind her to see whose hand it was on her shoulder. She would never forget the feel of his grimy hands on her skin.

The tips of his fingers skimmed under the lace strap of her dress as he turned her around to face him. Her entire body shook as she came face to face with the same grey suit he had worn the last time she saw him. She swallowed back the mixture of champagne and bile that had risen in her throat, burning her esophagus on the way down. _Don't look, don't look, don't look_ she repeated, over and over in her head as his hand slid painstakingly down her shoulder and across the skin of her arm. Gooseflesh rose in the path that he weaved until he brought it to rest at the crook of her elbow.

His voice was menacing as he leaned his chest into her body, whispering close to her ear, "My, my you are lovely."

An expletive sounded in her ear sounding similar to Oliver's voice, but she couldn't be sure. The only thing that Felicity was sure of was how cold she suddenly felt - like she'd been standing out in the snow without a jacket on for hours.

The tracking device felt like a bomb in her hand and she knew she had to make a move to slip the small bead into one of his pockets. _Be strong, finish the mission. _Her eyes, which had been focused on the knot of his tie during the interaction, darted around for a place to slip in the tracker. She eyed his breast pocket and knew that was where it had to go; there was less of a chance he would find it there. Steeling her nerves, she brought her hand up to his chest to subtly shove him away - the device slipped right into place.

She couldn't help but feel relief at her success as she focused on his tie again. Her small victory was cut short, however, by Slade's chuckle. "Feisty little thing." He pulled his arm away from her elbow as someone approached them.

"Everything alright here?" Felicity felt a strange combination of joy and dread as Oliver spoke. She could feel Slade's eye roving over her as she looked towards Oliver. Barely contained rage rippled over his features as he took in Slade's proximity to her.

"Ah, Mr. Queen," Slade started, amusement coloring his voice. "Just complimenting your exquisite secretary here." Again, Slade brought his hand up to touch her shoulder and Felicity fought every instinct in her being not to flinch at his touch. Oliver stiffened beside her at the contact as he gave Slade a warning look. A booming laugh erupted from the madman's chest as he removed his hand.

"Give your mother my best, Mr. Queen." He said before retreating to the exit.

Oliver turned towards her, bringing his hand to rest on the shoulder Slade had formerly touched. It felt entirely different than the hand that it had replaced - like a salve to the bitter coldness that had encapsulated her body.

"Are you okay?" Oliver's voice quaked slightly and Felicity had to look away. She felt raw and on display as she shook her head, trying to ward off the traitor tears that had taken up residence behind her eyelids.

Breathing deeply she finally spoke, "I got to go to the restroom." Her head motioned downward towards the basement, and Oliver nodded understandingly. Felicity was not coming back to this party.

As he released her shoulder, she left him standing there as she headed for the foundry.

* * *

They'd given her 20 minutes of solitude before joining her in the basement. Felicity had spent the majority of that time in bathroom, scrubbing her shoulder and arm raw to erase Slade's touch from her skin. The area was red and irritated after she was finished but it made her feel better. Like all she had to do was throw some soap and water on it and everything would be okay.

She found one of Diggle's sweaters hanging off the back of a chair and threw it on over her cocktail dress. The sweater was huge on her small frame, reaching the tops of her knees. Despite how ridiculous she knew it looked, she felt more comfortable in it than the dress.

Sara and Oliver came into the foundry together. They looked completely opposite as they came into her view: Oliver in his tie and tuxedo and Sara in her leather gear and wig. She had been outside patrolling the club just in case things took a turn for the worse.

Felicity had just started booting up the tracking software when she spotted them.

Oliver was furiously tugging at his tie while Sara spoke to him. "You should have let me follow him Ollie, just in case he finds the tracker." Sara trailed after him as he threw the tie onto the table beside his quiver.

"And I told you it was too big of a risk, Sara. Slade isn't stupid. He would expect us to do that." His voice was still tight as he made his way towards Felicity. She turned away from them as they approached, but not before she saw his face soften at her appearance. "Is the program up yet?" He leaned his weight onto the back of her chair. She had told them that she successfully planted the device on Slade before she had taken her comm link out.

"Almost. I just have to do a few more things..." She trailed off as she brought up the transmission signal and turned it on. A map of Starling City appeared on the center screen along with a red dot that seemed to be entering the city limits. Felicity exhaled slowly as she watched the dot move along the map. "It worked," her voice sounded small but relieved as she leaned back in the chair. Oliver's hand moved from the chair to her back as he gave her a small pat.

"Thank you Felicity," his voice was lower than it had been when he was talking with Sara. "I'm sorry I put you through that." Felicity nodded, not fully trusting herself to speak.

A few seconds later they heard heavy footsteps coming from the ground entrance. She didn't have to look up to know that it was Digg.

He gave her a funny look as he approached her desk. "Is that my hoody?" Felicity glanced down at her apparel as she shoved her hands through the pocket near her thighs.

"I was cold," she said before forcing a small smile. Shaking his head with a smirk, Diggle approached her side, waiting to be filled in.

"So, what's the plan?" Diggle asked as they watched the red dot move across the map.

"Simple. We wait for him to stop and then we bring the fight to him." Oliver's voice had taken on an edge again as he backed away from the desk. Felicity knew he was heading for his hood.

"That doesn't sound like much of a plan to me," _Oh no, here we go, _Felicty thought as Diggle crossed his arms. It was never a good sign when Diggle crossed his arms.

"Diggle's right. We need to a plan. We can't just go in there guns blazing Ollie." Felicity was still staring at the map while the voices continued to rise behind her.

"We don't have time to sit around and discuss schematics, don't you get that? We have to act fast." She could hear him withdraw his gear from the glass box before turning towards the bathroom to change.

Diggle made an exasperated noise before turning towards the computer.

"He still hasn't stopped yet." Felicity offered. She was beginning to grow restless following the red dot across the streets of Starling City. It had been almost an hour and he still hadn't stopped moving. _What was he doing? _

She felt Sara sidle up behind her as she watched the GPS signal with them. "Maybe Oliver was right. Slade probably thinks that he was followed, so he's ensuring he loses us before going back to his lair."

Felicity nodded in agreement anxious for the dot to stop moving.

Minutes later Oliver came back, joining the others behind Felicity's shoulder. It was starting to feel crowded.

"Still moving?" Felicity nodded at Oliver's question. He released a shuddering breath as he moved away from them towards his bow.

"Sara, go find Roy. I know he's mad at me, but he'll want to be a part of this. We need him to be a part of this." Oliver said the last part more to himself as he grabbed various arrows out of the case. "Diggle and I will get in contact with you once we find out Slade's location."

Felicity turned around then, watching Sara as she reluctantly agreed with Oliver's decision. She grabbed her mask and weapons off of the table as she made her exit.

Once she was gone, Diggle grabbed his duffle bag from the far corner of the room and made his way towards the bathroom to change out of his suit.

Oliver's head was down as he focused on shoving arrows into his quiver.

"When I heard his voice over the comm tonight, talking to you, I was so scared." His voice was so low and quite that Felicity wasn't even sure he had spoken. When he dropped the arrows and turned towards her, however, she knew he had. Her heart thumped in her chest.

"And when he touched you," Oliver's eyes closed tight and his hands turned into fists making Felicity's breath catch in her throat. "I've never wanted to kill anyone more in my life."

Felicity brought her hand to her mouth to cover the small sob that escaped. Why was he saying this? Why now?

She closed her eyes against the tears escaping her lids, wishing she could be stronger.

"Felicity," he said and she heard him take a step closer. His footsteps faltered when a harsh laugh closed in around them. Her eyes flew open at the sound. Looking past Oliver, she saw the face of the one man she never wanted to see again staring back at her on all three monitors of the computer.

Stunned, she turned towards her own monitors, the ones that she had been using to track Slade, to see that his face was plastered on them as well. It was like the clock king all over again.

She pushed away from the desk, distancing herself from Slade face, even if she knew he wasn't really there. She stood beside Oliver clutching the material of the sweater next to her heart, hoping it would keep it from bursting out of her chest.

He leveled his beady eye at each of them before speaking.  
"I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

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**A/N: In the show, Slade was able to access the foundry. He attacked the gang and stole the Clock Kings' key from them. So, why wouldn't he be able to break in and tamper with a couple of their computers? In this instance, he had some help. His own little IT helper, who won't have any role in the story at all, but I just wanted to make that clear just in case someone says "Slade isn't smart enough to hack into Felicity's system". Again, I'm sorry about the slow update and I know this isn't much! But I hope it makes you excited for the next chapter, because THAT my friends, will be something to behold. **  
**Also, sorry for my overuse of comma's... I have a problem. **

**Bless you all! :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing Arrow related. All the credit is to DC comics, Warner Bro's and the CW! :) **

**A/N: WARNING on this chapter. There are some not so awesome flashbacks (I had to re-read Chapter 4 a time or two for a memory refresher myself). I hope I do this chapter justice.  
**

**Again, thanks to all ya'll who read and review! It makes my soul happy which is always awesome. Enjoy! **

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Chapter Eleven 

Felicity couldn't speak, she couldn't move. It was like her feet had grown roots and planted themselves into the floor of the basement.

_How?_

It was the only thing her mind could grasp. How had he gotten into her system? It was... Un-hackable. After William Tockman scrambled their hardware Felicity took EVERY precaution possible to ensure that it wouldn't happen again.

"How?" Felicity heard the words escape her mouth before she had a chance to rein them in. Having a conversation with Slade Wilson was not on her list of things she wanted to do, but she had to know.

She watched as he leaned back into his chair, a smug smile playing across his features as he looked at her.

"Felicity, Felicity, Felicity." She could feel Oliver move closer to her, shielding her from Slade's gaze. "It is so good to hear you speak," his eyes closed as he continued, "I was a little upset that you didn't talk to me at the party tonight. I've missed your voice." He purred the last statement making Felicity avert her eyes at the look of delight on his face.

Oliver's head quirked towards her and she knew he had questions - he thought tonight was the first time that she'd met Slade. Guilt overrode Felicity's fear in that moment as she took a step closer to him. She was so close she could feel the heat from his body as she whispered, "I'm sorry."

She could hear his intake of breath as he turned towards her. In that moment she would have preferred death to the look that he gave her; betrayal, hurt, anger all flooded his features as he searched her eyes. She wanted to cry, she needed to cry, but she wouldn't - not with Slade's omniscient eye watching them. Oliver ground his teeth for what seemed like an eternity before he spat, "What's going on?"

Felicity was stuck, unsure of what to say. She knew that she had betrayed him and Diggle and their whole team by withholding the location of the warehouse where Slade attacked her. She could have made up a story, something, anything to led them to that warehouse, but she didn't. She fisted the sweater harder beneath her chest, bracing herself as she stuttered, "I...I didn't know how to tell you," her voice broke as tears trailed down her cheeks. Never had she felt the shame she encountered in that moment as Oliver stared at her with broken trust in his eyes.

"This is going better than I had hoped," Felicity felt hollow as she turned to look at the monitors once more. Oliver stared at her for a moment more before turning his attention back to Slade. "You see, I've been watching you all for some time now." Slade's image disappeared momentarily before an aerial image of her and Oliver flitted across the screen. She gasped as she took in the footage: one was from weeks ago, before the attack, of her and Oliver laughing at something that Diggle had said. Another one was of them frantically discussing the plan for Felicity to put the tracker on Slade at Moira's benefit party. The last one was of them now, staring back at themselves in horror as they realized how Slade had one-upped them.

The screen blacked out for a moment before Slade appeared again. "You're not the only one with an IT expert on their side, kid," he paused "Although, mine isn't as appealing as your Felicity." She shuddered as his eye slithered across her body. Even when he wasn't here he still felt too close.

Oliver paced to the weapons table, near his bow, before slamming his fist down hard. "Goddamitt Slade, what do you want!?" Felicity flinched at the sound. Never in her nearly two years with Oliver had she heard him that angry. Never.

She was staring at the ground now, defeat dominating her in every possible way. Everything they'd done, everything they discussed and shared, and hoped to accomplish, was all for nothing. They'd been on the Slade Show for months without having a single clue or indication that he was watching them the whole time. Her body trembled in disgust.

"Come on now, kid. You know why I'm here," Felicity could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "I made you a promise, and I intend on keeping it."

The sound of footsteps made Felicity's head snap up from the floor as she watched Diggle join them. His face was tight and guarded as she locked him in her view. He must have been standing there for a while. "Ah, Mr. Diggle! So glad you could come out and join us. The fun is just about to begin." Slade smacked his hand against the table before she heard silence once more.

Fear laced through her bones as she looked up at the blank screens. _What's happening?_

Oliver grabbed his bow fast and Diggle went for his gun, both preparing for Slade and his companions to emerge from the shadows to attack. Felicity stood still in anticipation as the monitors flickered to life once more.

Her gasp was sharp and loud as she took in the footage that displayed across every screen around them. She knew that room, that dress, those shoes - she saw them every day and every night in her head; everything was the same save for the perspective.

The camera must have been positioned in the corner of the warehouse, giving them a clear view of Felicity cowering on the floor in front of Slade while he sat in a chair. She could see her glasses lying beside the chair. The air collectively left her body as familiar words came from the speakers, "**Try to stay put this time, Ms. Smoak. Next time I won't be so gentle."**

"No. _No."_ She whispered as she watched the worst moment of her life play out before her.

Oliver and Diggle had yet to take their eyes off the screen, watching as the Felicity from _before_ asked,** "Why am I here?" **

The video skipped forward, cutting to Slade kneeling before her,** "I figured out what Oliver Queen loves the most,"** Felicity watches as Slade grabs her chin and she could almost feel the shadow of pain as he continued, **"You," **her body trembled, both on the screen and in memory,** "And now I will take that away." **

Felicity's body was heavy, unable to hold up her weight any longer. She slid to the floor quietly, taking in John and Oliver from her peripheral. Oliver was frozen in place, unable to take his eyes away from the screen. Diggle, however, was looking at her, but she didn't acknowledge him - not while she could hear herself screaming in the background.

**"Please," **she was crying, begging, **"Don't do this". **

She watched as Slade forced himself closer to her and growled, **"Too late."**

Again, the video flashed forward - Slade was now grabbing her hair, his body on top of her own, **"It must have killed Oliver to keep his hands off of you for so long. He was never any good at control..."** Slade's hands then moved to push her knees apart as he continued to taunt her, **"Oh, he'll regret that now. Because once I have you, he won't be able to look at you." **

Felicity forced her eyes to stay on the screen, on herself, as _that_ Felicity fought against Slade - clawing, scratching, and screaming to no avail. He had restrained her hands and Felicity knew what happened next as she saw herself dig her black heels into his back. She watched as Slade grasped her breast in his bruising fist, her screaming getting progressively louder in the background as she begged. She heard him say "**The Kid is going to love this," **before the sound that seemed to echo through the foundry rang out.

_Riiip._

The perspective was different but the feelings were the same as she watched Slade discard the shredded cotton material of her underwear behind his back. She was vaguely aware of the sound of Oliver's bow hitting the ground and Diggle turning to leave the room, but Felicity was still staring, still watching something she already knew the outcome to.

She watched as Slade entered her and it was like it was happening all over again. She threw her hands over her ears, her eyes wide as she watched herself stop fighting on the monitor. Nevertheless, Slade still abused her limp body, bucking into her wildly as she lied dormant on the warehouse floor. His grunting and growling grew louder, breaking through the barriers of her hands covering her ears. Soon enough, however, it was over and he was sliding out of her, zipping up his pants. She could see blood on her thighs and on the floor as she lay unmoving on the screen, refusing to open her eyes.

**"Now you're both ruined," **Slade's words mimicked how she felt as he exited off camera. She watched as the girl turned over and vomited before she laid back down, bringing her knees to her chest as she whimpered. The video played for a few more minutes before flashing back to the desktop icons.

Felicity's eyes flashed to Oliver, his bow still resting at his feet as he continued to stare at the screen.

She couldn't stop the scream that tore through her chest as she tightened her hold over her ears. Everything inside of her threatened to burst out of every pore in her body as her cry kept rising. Slade had taken everything from her; her comfort, her self-esteem, her privacy, her safety... Oliver. She couldn't hold it all in anymore. Rationally, she knew that she needed to calm down, breathe and talk to Oliver and Diggle about this. She needed to tell them that she was sorry, that she didn't know what to say; that she was afraid.

But nothing came out except the scream.

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**A/N: Where to start? Well, first of all, I hope this chapter was written clearly enough. We know Slade is camera savvy from 'The Promise' episode where he sets up all the camera's in Oliver's house. So why wouldn't he do that in the Foundry? With that said, why wouldn't he set up a camera to record the rape? He wanted Oliver to find out and what better way to do that they stream that to him in the place they all thought they were safe? (Sorry for all the rhetorical questions). Also, if you haven't figured it out yet, everything in bold is what was said on the warehouse footage. :) **  
**I hope everything seemed believable. I know many of you may think "Why didn't Felicity/Oliver/Diggle try to shut the computer's off or unplug them to stop the from seeing the rape?" Well, in my opinion, I feel like they were so shocked by what they were seeing, by what had happened, that that possibility to shut it down never occured to them. That's why Diggle walked away before he could see more. Oliver, on the other hand, seems to be like the type of person who has to see everything to believe it. In this case, to believe someone he trusted like Slade could actually do something like that. **

**As always, review! I love feedback, positive or negative (preferably positive, but I'll take what I can get). Also, any questions you can PM to me. I'll answer any and everyone. Thank you lovelies for sticking with me. **


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